X"THE DIVINE COMEDY" BY DANTE –
PARADISO QUESTIONS & 100%
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS
GUARANTEED A+
Canto 1 - - Dante has travelled to the realm that's most filled with God's light—that is, Heaven
- While there, he saw things that he wouldn't know how to explain, even if he could
- Dante is transcending; Heaven is on the pathway to the ultimate destination: God
- But as much as he can remember and express will become the subject of this poem
- He calls upon Apollo for help in his task
- When Dante and Beatrice begin their journey through Heaven, it is a few days after Easter Sunday
- Beatrice gazes into the noonday sun, and Dante copies her, able to stare into the sun for a short time
- After that, he redirects his gaze to Beatrice instead
- When Dante hears heavenly music and sees blazing lights filling the sky, Beatrice says that they have
risen beyond the Earthly Paradise toward the heavens
- She explains how this rising is made possible: essentially, all created things have a natural tendency to
fulfill the purpose of their existence by seeking God, like a form of heavenly gravity
- In Beatrice's eyes, Dante can see what she sees
- This is an image of emulation; we can see the divinity in others even though they aren't ready to see it
in themselves
- Now, Dante is as good as a natural human can be, but he has to become divine if he is to satisfy the
desire of his eternal soul
- Dante's journey through Paradise must infuse his humanity with divinity; he was morally purified in the
journey up Mount Purgatory, but in earthly paradise, he finds himself an eternal supernatural yearning
that he has not yet satisfied (he becomes conscious of the supernatural and eternal self)
- Beatrice's eyes are a mirror for Dante and a window onto mystical reality; Dante is learning to see
himself through Beatrice's eyes
,- The journey through Paradise is a lesson to readers about how to overcome our fear of not
understanding the relationshi
Canto 2 - First Sphere of Heaven: The Moon
- Dante warns less spiritually prepared readers not to embark on this heavenward journey
- Only those who have been accustomed to feeding on "angel-bread" can safely follow him there
- Beatrice tells Dante that God has led them to the "first star," the moon
- A dense, shining cloud envelops them
- Dante asks Beatrice about the dark markings visible on the moon's surface—on Earth, people refer to
these as the marks of Cain
- Dante suggests that perhaps the markings are due to variations in density on the moon's surface
- Beatrice explains the scientific reason for the spots on the moon's surface—basically, that each of the
heavenly spheres reflects the light of the sun in a different way, and that different parts of the moon
reflect that light differently, too
- Similarly, there are differences among souls without there being contradictions in God's purpose
Canto 3 - - Still in first sphere
- Before Dante can reply to Beatrice's scientific explanation, a sight distracts him
- He sees indistinct reflections of faces and turns around, thinking people must be standing behind him
- Beatrice teases him, calling him a "baby" in his pursuit of truth
- She explains that the beings he sees are real souls, not reflections
- The reason that they're in this sphere—and why they appear so cloudy—is because of their inconstancy
during life
- Beatrice encourages Dante to speak to them
- Dante asks the nearest spirit to reveal her name and destiny
- Smiling, she identifies herself as Piccarda, a former nun who'd been pulled from the cloister and made
to marry
, - She explains that she and her fellow souls are assigned to this slower-moving sphere of Heaven
because they failed to be true to their promise of Christ
- Noticing how happy she appears, Dante wonders if she'd prefer to be in a higher sphere, where she'd
be closer to God
- Still radiant, Piccarda replies that God's love causes her to want nothing other than what she has been
given
- If she wished to be placed higher, then her will would be "out of tune" with God's—but, in Heaven, that
simply cannot be
- In God's will, in other words, she finds her peace
- Piccarda points out the soul of another former nun, Empress Constance
- Constance also failed to keep her promise to Christ, but "she never let the veil fall from her heart"
- Piccarda then fades from Dante's sight, singing Ave Maria
- Dante turns to look at Beatrice again, and his eyes are overwhelmed by her radiant light
- The souls in the first sphere are at a distance from the centre point of Heaven because they were
deficient and broke their promises to God
- Though they broke their promises to Him, they held them in their hearts and hoped for forgiveness
- Piccarda and Constance w
Canto 4 - - Still in first sphere
- Beatrice perceives that Dante feels torn between two questions, so she seeks to resolve his doubts
- Dante's first question, she says, is how a person's merit can justly be reduced, if that person was
violently forced to do something against their will
- Secondly, Dante is surprised that human souls appear to return to their allotted stars, a fact that seems
to vindicate Plato rather than Christianity
- Beatrice addresses the second question first, because it's the question that's more likely to lead Dante
astray from his faith
- She explains that no soul resides anywhere besides the Empyrean (the highest sphere, where God
himself dwells)
PARADISO QUESTIONS & 100%
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS
GUARANTEED A+
Canto 1 - - Dante has travelled to the realm that's most filled with God's light—that is, Heaven
- While there, he saw things that he wouldn't know how to explain, even if he could
- Dante is transcending; Heaven is on the pathway to the ultimate destination: God
- But as much as he can remember and express will become the subject of this poem
- He calls upon Apollo for help in his task
- When Dante and Beatrice begin their journey through Heaven, it is a few days after Easter Sunday
- Beatrice gazes into the noonday sun, and Dante copies her, able to stare into the sun for a short time
- After that, he redirects his gaze to Beatrice instead
- When Dante hears heavenly music and sees blazing lights filling the sky, Beatrice says that they have
risen beyond the Earthly Paradise toward the heavens
- She explains how this rising is made possible: essentially, all created things have a natural tendency to
fulfill the purpose of their existence by seeking God, like a form of heavenly gravity
- In Beatrice's eyes, Dante can see what she sees
- This is an image of emulation; we can see the divinity in others even though they aren't ready to see it
in themselves
- Now, Dante is as good as a natural human can be, but he has to become divine if he is to satisfy the
desire of his eternal soul
- Dante's journey through Paradise must infuse his humanity with divinity; he was morally purified in the
journey up Mount Purgatory, but in earthly paradise, he finds himself an eternal supernatural yearning
that he has not yet satisfied (he becomes conscious of the supernatural and eternal self)
- Beatrice's eyes are a mirror for Dante and a window onto mystical reality; Dante is learning to see
himself through Beatrice's eyes
,- The journey through Paradise is a lesson to readers about how to overcome our fear of not
understanding the relationshi
Canto 2 - First Sphere of Heaven: The Moon
- Dante warns less spiritually prepared readers not to embark on this heavenward journey
- Only those who have been accustomed to feeding on "angel-bread" can safely follow him there
- Beatrice tells Dante that God has led them to the "first star," the moon
- A dense, shining cloud envelops them
- Dante asks Beatrice about the dark markings visible on the moon's surface—on Earth, people refer to
these as the marks of Cain
- Dante suggests that perhaps the markings are due to variations in density on the moon's surface
- Beatrice explains the scientific reason for the spots on the moon's surface—basically, that each of the
heavenly spheres reflects the light of the sun in a different way, and that different parts of the moon
reflect that light differently, too
- Similarly, there are differences among souls without there being contradictions in God's purpose
Canto 3 - - Still in first sphere
- Before Dante can reply to Beatrice's scientific explanation, a sight distracts him
- He sees indistinct reflections of faces and turns around, thinking people must be standing behind him
- Beatrice teases him, calling him a "baby" in his pursuit of truth
- She explains that the beings he sees are real souls, not reflections
- The reason that they're in this sphere—and why they appear so cloudy—is because of their inconstancy
during life
- Beatrice encourages Dante to speak to them
- Dante asks the nearest spirit to reveal her name and destiny
- Smiling, she identifies herself as Piccarda, a former nun who'd been pulled from the cloister and made
to marry
, - She explains that she and her fellow souls are assigned to this slower-moving sphere of Heaven
because they failed to be true to their promise of Christ
- Noticing how happy she appears, Dante wonders if she'd prefer to be in a higher sphere, where she'd
be closer to God
- Still radiant, Piccarda replies that God's love causes her to want nothing other than what she has been
given
- If she wished to be placed higher, then her will would be "out of tune" with God's—but, in Heaven, that
simply cannot be
- In God's will, in other words, she finds her peace
- Piccarda points out the soul of another former nun, Empress Constance
- Constance also failed to keep her promise to Christ, but "she never let the veil fall from her heart"
- Piccarda then fades from Dante's sight, singing Ave Maria
- Dante turns to look at Beatrice again, and his eyes are overwhelmed by her radiant light
- The souls in the first sphere are at a distance from the centre point of Heaven because they were
deficient and broke their promises to God
- Though they broke their promises to Him, they held them in their hearts and hoped for forgiveness
- Piccarda and Constance w
Canto 4 - - Still in first sphere
- Beatrice perceives that Dante feels torn between two questions, so she seeks to resolve his doubts
- Dante's first question, she says, is how a person's merit can justly be reduced, if that person was
violently forced to do something against their will
- Secondly, Dante is surprised that human souls appear to return to their allotted stars, a fact that seems
to vindicate Plato rather than Christianity
- Beatrice addresses the second question first, because it's the question that's more likely to lead Dante
astray from his faith
- She explains that no soul resides anywhere besides the Empyrean (the highest sphere, where God
himself dwells)
